Overview
- Russian units have pushed into parts of Pokrovsk, with Ukrainian and Russian military blogs reporting close-quarters combat and strikes on supply routes inside the city.
- Ukrainian officials say defenders are heavily outnumbered, with Zelenskyy citing an eight-to-one ratio, as Kyiv’s 7th Corps reports Russian efforts to close a pocket with roughly 11,000 troops.
- The Institute for the Study of War says it sees no evidence of a full encirclement and no imminent collapse, though it cautions the city could still fall.
- Putin publicly offered brief pauses for journalists in the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad and Kupiansk areas, stopping short of proposing any broader cease-fire.
- Civilians face acute danger as exit roads come under fire, and a separate U.S. intelligence assessment reported by NBC concludes Putin remains intent on pursuing the war rather than compromise.